Reinforced wooden structure.



A, WANNER, Jn.

REINFORCED WOODEN STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. 1916.

1,230,545. Patented June 19, 1917.

WITNESS:

INVENTOR. fiflaefl' Wanna? In,

A TTOR/VEY .ALBERT WANNER JR., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

REINFORCED WOOD N STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Paten tQd une Application filed-nine 14, 1916.- SeriaI'No. 103,600.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT IVAE'NER, J12, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the'cou'nty of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reinforced WVooden Structures, of which the following is a specification.

In certain furniture and the like elements which are integral pieces of wood the requirements of their shapes, to adapt them either to the mechanical exigencies of the structures of which they form a part or to some selected design, often call for their being relatively thin and hence liable to split at places where the grain extends crosswise. This is true, for instance, in certain chair legs and other basal members; which frequently are formed of an elongated, perhaps somewhat curved, piece of wood whose grain extends generally longitudinally thereof, except where at one end there occurs a projection formed relatively lateral of the grain, making such projection weak and likely to break away when subjected to strain.

My object by the present invention is to provide for reinforcing wood elements of the kind indicated in such a way that they will be substantially as proof against splitting in respect to the projections mentioned as in respect to the body portions thereof; and this object I accomplish by forming a groove in the end face of the element having such projection, to wit, in said projection and in the end of the body portion, and snugly fitting and cementing in said groove a reinforce piece of fibrous material.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in reference to a basal structure for certain articles of furniture,

Figures 1 and 2 being perspective views of the two main parts of such structure separated from each other, and,

Fig. 3 a plan view showing said parts assembled.

Each two main parts of the basal structure shown in the drawing includes two wooden elements a each of which is elongated and in the present case curved and has its grain extending generally longitudinally thereof. Each member includes at the end thereof where it is attached to the counterpart member an. upward projection b which extends laterally relatively to the remainder or body portion of said member and therefore with reference to grain of the wood.

Said projection and the corresponding endof the'body portion-are formed with a bearing face 0 which abuts against some other element, as a Vertical face of the post or upright A indicated by dotted outline in Fig. 3. In the example illustrated by the drawmg, when thetwo main parts of the basal structure are assembled with the post A the leverage exerted by each element a upon the post, especially under-downward pressure on the post, results in a strain upon the projection b which it is inadequately adapted to assume because it is more or less thin and the grain extends crosswise thereof.

In accordance with my invention I provide a groove 6, preferably rectangular in cross section, in theafores'aid face '0; that is to say, said groove is formed not only in the ' the projection b but in the body portion of the element a. In this groove I place a reinforcing piece f of preferably non-split ting fibrous material, the same being snugly fitted thereto and cemented therein. I employ fibrous material because it is porous and thus, in the presence of cement interposed between its surfaces and the surfaces of the groove, forms a reinforce or binder that will effectually insure against the wood of the element a splitting. In furtherance of this object, and especially where as herein shown the piece 7 is to form a joint member and hence should have the strength needed to adapt it to such a purpose, I prefer to form it of laminated wood sheets having the grains thereof crossed.

In the adaptation shown, the reinforce piece 7" forms a joint member, common to two of the elements a. Having, thus formed, the two main parts for a basal structure (each such part consisting of two elements a connected by a joint member f), the joint member of one may be notched downwardly as at g and the other upwardly as at it so that the two joint members may be halved into each other to produce the basal structure shown in Fig. 8 comprising with such joint members, interlocked, a series of radiating elements a each of which has its inner end reinforced against splitting by a joint member.

It will be understood thatfor the faces 0 to bear inwardly against the sides of the upright or post A the latter has its lower end slotted in transverse longitudinal planes (Fig. 3 so as to fit over the cruciform element comprising the members halved into each other.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a furniture element of the class including an upright and radial members projecting therefrom and attached thereto at their inner ends, a radial member of Wood consisting of an elongated body portion and a projection extending substantially vertically from the attaching end thereof, said member having the grain of the Wood throughout extending longitudinally of said body portion, and said projection and said end having a face adapted to bear against said upright and forming an angle With the wood grain and an up-and-down extending groove in said face, in combination With a piece of fibrous material cemented in and snugly fitting said groove and forming an across-the-grain reinforce between the body portion and projection of said member.

2. In a furniture element of the class including an upright and radial members projecting therefrom and attached thereto at their inner ends, a radial member of WOOCl.

consisting of an elongated body portion and a projection extending substantially vertically from the attaching end thereof, said member having the grain of the Wood throughout extending longitudinally of said body portion, and said projection and said end having afaoe adapted to bear against said upright and forming an angle With the \voodgrain and an up-and-dovvn extending groove in said face, in combination With a device to attach said member to the upright consisting of a piece of fibrous material cemented in and snugly fitting said groove and forming an across-the-grain reinforce between the body portion and projection of said member.

3. In combination, a series of radiating wood elements having the grain of each eX tending radially of said series, each element having a groove at its inner end lengthwise of the aXis of the series, and interlocked joint members formed of cross-grained layers of wood cemented together, said members being snugly fitted into and cemented in said grooves and thereby reinforcing the i I iner ends of said elements.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

ALBERT \VANNER, JR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. C. 

